New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-03-18
GONE WITH HALF A MILLION.
WALTER E. LAwroYs SUDDEN FLIGHT.
SAYING THAT Hr WAS RUINED AND MIGHT coxN11

ton Bros, dealers In phosphates at No. 81 Broad.
way. left tho city suddenly Tuesday after nego-
tiating notes and taking with him cash said TO
exceed half million dollars Whittier he has gone
none of his business associates friends able
to say yesterday Attachments were secured againse
his property by Abram King representing the
Ammoniate and Oil Company. Of No. 7S Broad-st.
on claim Of $12s.OOO: the Delta Azotn Com
pany, of No. 1873 Water-st, 100000; and Robert
A. Van Wyck. of No. II Broadway. $4,000 for
legal services.
Tho failure and flight OF Lawton caused
amazement in the fertilizing trade. Lawton
Brothers began business young men forty odd
years ago. James N. Lawton. the other partner.
died some ten years ago. Walter Is tall. 6ne-ook-
ing man verging sixty years Of age. He is .
wldower, his wife having died over year ago. Aud
has no children He has lived at Spuyten DuyviL
where he had handsome residence.
Lawton appears to have passed Tuesday in going
to various banks take up all the cash he had do
posted. aud besides he negotiated notes amount
ing, it Is thought to $5OO.O00. He had apparently
unlimited credit being rated as worth from
$5OO,OOO to S75O,OOO, with frst-class credit
Fertilizing firms say that he had always
been perfectly upright in his dealings =
was generally supposed to be worth
81. 100000, and hence the general query vast
"why on earth has Lawton done thIs' What
reason for it lie must be madp Lawton. after
raising his cash on Tuesday. went TO his office.
states that he noticed nothing unusual in Lawton'e
manner; he went away apparently in his usual
manner at the end Of the day.
Rufus Y. Kirkland. the president OF the Ammonr
ate and Oil Company who was Lawton's cashier,
saws that he talked with Lawton on Tuesday as
Wall-st and Broadwayr ana Then at ms Geeues
subsequently met Lawton at the New-York Hotel
carrying Q blank warranty deed for certain prop
cry winch he owned In New-Jersey. ms CONSISTS
of a large tract Of clay land on the Hackensaek
River on which are two ier ger factories, he whole
estimated to he wort $60O.O0O The two then
went 10 the Grand Central Station, where Lawtcu
said he had drawn all his money on deposit. that
he ruined and was going away, and that hs
might commit suicide. He subsequently TOOK 2
tram. There were reports yesterday that he had
sailed on Wednesday to England, where he has
brother living in Sussex.
Az LawtOns office yesterday the young ooox-
keeper and Deputy Sheriff John Pritchard were tbe
only persons to be seen. The young man was u
despair and knew not what to do MI. LaWton
was president and treasurer of the Navassa Com
pany, IN the same office. which does large buss-
ness at Its Baltimore headquarters lie was also z
director in the Ammonlate aud OIL Company ans
LOUIS Beer. Of No. 7s Broad-st.. said:
a business wn MI w.0b S a on rneay ,ness Sa
ton for years and his flight acompee mystery nsss
or he would not have taken money for purpose
Joseph d. Jones' the president Of the Azotin Con-
pany, was one of I.awtoas closest business asso-
cates member Of the company said:
neaoiiatei 100000 OF his us aud we got out ,ss
h' pr0Pery ay s
worth IRON $500 s75ouOo wth hrstclass credit he
III fisht viii probably mako banks chary about erdt
tii2ng houses will probably be carried down by this
Iawton is said to have been interested in several
Southern gas companies IN street rai'fSao S com
| fertilHng corporations, among them the Cheaar
| peake GuanO Company.
| paper is held in small amounts by many prominent
| banks and trust companies. The amount could nos
be ascertained yesterday because II ls g
o%psny C1%S5s ScaitSTis hSds $4,000 Of & and che
Central Trust Company somewhat larger amount
| Among the banks, the American Exchange h2s
$50. 600, the Fourth National about $4,000, the
| Third National a smaller amount and the NationA
Bank of the Republic $1,000 Nearly all tns
| downtown banks that handle commercial paper
are reported TO hold small amounts. but the prin-
cipal ones those named. All the notes have tne
appearance of being business paper and were takea
| by the banks in the ordinary way and through the
| usual channels so far as could be learned, thee
was little if any sngle-name paper outstandins.
Most bank officers sc small az Ipe that es
paid little attention to 1t after the nfst announce
| ment. ,.s
largely at all the exchanges and the decline in
stocks in the middle of the aiternoco
was said to be 1Ss due rumn,s IN opaatv part .S. "a
aggera ted the extent of his Intersstsn stocks. Al,
| thou oh brokers were loath admit that they had
ever done business for him. The effect on the STOCK
market appeared TO be general rather than speciio
and il there any at all 1t was OF short DURATION
There were mauy wild rumors about the failure
in the Consolidated stock and Petroleum Exehange
| n was sald that Lawton had been heavily long o.
cru,ic oll certIfcates and that there were heavy
sales for hls account IN the m9Tn'hs AZ eam "cs so,1
| Among the best Uniformed members OF the trane.
however. credence was placed III TINS story: INC
| broker who credited with dong most Ok 70
selling for this suDpOsittlOus account denied th&s
he was acting for him aud he and other pr0minens
oil operators declared that they had never heard 0.
| the fugitive of his doing anything IN the Oh
market. -, -. 4, .
| uected with the oil interests SAID:
We have not any dealings with Mr. Lawtou ana nsvS
no reason to suppose that he interested oil % ssy
s"Se time ago Mr. and anxious =
1s and sn iys nis he
pretty Freely Of The banks which had ds:s
a no, dssps: na :S n We |
eTs WAS little chance young we declined AZ
SS,iSsss e%siS %s' A''' ''-'''
R,;,adway reheoted for O time seriously upon Law
ton Brothers. of Havana Cuba who have Ounces n %
| the fourth floor OF tho Produce Escnsnge, s IN
patches we're received BY firms IN thus city no 7
Sf. Louis New Orleans, Philadelphia: Boston and
Baltimore making inquiries of the hav utn.
Superintendent Fletcher, OF the Excnanee, Pso%np6 %
| Iv corrected the false Impression. The two nfms
! are distinct and the one IN the Produce ExcnanSS
| Building stands high IN the commercial world
The Havana house Is agent for tue morgan auo i"1
| the Plant steamship lines. "a
The three attachments against the property OF
Supreme Court. The first charges that since NO
| yember Lawt0n had promissory notes OF the A1o-
i'm Company to the amount Of 500. 900 discounted
| and absconded with the proceeds In this SUIT An
afiidayIt by Rufus Y. Kirkland. Lawton's cashier.
Was presented. he deposed that on March 10
fmnds that he had deposited In the United States
National bank, the American Exchange National
| Kank tho Commercial National Banks
,he Third National Bank and the National Bank of
| Commerce. He had destroyed all the stubs ana
napers relating TO his transactions. aud had also
taken $4,000 which had oeoIi a,a p,aceu :" Co%nanv
charges that LawtOn has had $l20,000 in notes
Jisconnted and has absconded with the proceeds
and with So, 900 IN cash. The suit OF Mr. van "yck
| ia for S5 900 for professional services.
prSCUED FROM A SINKING SCHOONER